[Federal Register: August 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 52028-52029]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24au04-78]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Record of Decision for the Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the San Francisco Estuary
Invasive Spartina Project: Spartina Control Program
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces availability
of the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/R) for the San
Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project: Spartina Control Program.
The ROD is available to the public after publication of this Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The Service and the California
State Coastal Conservancy jointly prepared the EIS/R to address
environmental impacts and benefits of alternatives for the Spartina
Control Program and provide for early-stage public involvement, as
required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Spartina Control
Program's goal is to control or eradicate four species of non-native,
invasive perennial cordgrass (genus Spartina) in the San Francisco Bay
Estuary (Estuary), including the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife
Refuge.
Requests for the ROD should be directed to Mr. Wayne White, Field
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Fish and
Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605, Sacramento, CA 95825.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Littlefield, Sacramento Fish
and Wildlife Office, (916) 414-6600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The programmatic EIS/R analyzed potential
effects of implementing Spartina control or eradication methods at a
generalized, region-wide program level rather than a detailed,
individual project level. The purpose of the Spartina Control Program
is to arrest and reverse the spread of invasive, non-native cordgrasses
(S. alterniflora, S. anglica, S. densiflora, and S. patens) in the
Estuary to preserve and restore the ecological integrity of its
intertidal habitats and estuarine ecosystem.
The Estuary supports a diverse array of native plants and animals,
including several Federal and State listed species. Many nonnative
species of plants and animals have been introduced into the Estuary,
and some now threaten to cause fundamental changes in the structure,
function, and ecological value of the Estuary's tidal lands. In recent
decades, populations of nonnative cordgrasses were introduced to the
Estuary and rapidly began to spread. Although valuable in their native
settings, these introduced cordgrasses are highly invasive in new
environments and frequently become the dominant plant species. In
particular, the non-native Atlantic smooth cordgrass (S. alterniflora)
and its hybrids, formed when this species crosses with native Pacific
cordgrass (S. foliosa), are now threatening the ecological balance of
the Estuary. In the Estuary, Atlantic smooth cordgrass is likely to
choke tidal creeks, dominate newly restored tidal marshes, impair
thousands of acres of existing shorebird habitat, and eventually cause
extinction of the native Pacific cordgrass.
Once established in the Estuary, nonnative invasive cordgrass could
rapidly spread to other estuaries along the California coast through
seed dispersal on the tides. Nonnative invasive cordgrasses are
spreading rapidly in the Estuary and currently dominate 500 acres of
mudflats and tidal marshes on State, Federal, municipal, and private
lands. The Spartina Control Program implemented through the selected
alternative will provide for a coordinated, region-wide eradication
program, consisting of a number of on-the-ground treatment techniques
to address this invasion. The Spartina Control Program focuses on the
nearly 40,000 acres of tidal marsh and 29,000 acres of tidal flats that
compose the shoreline areas of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San
Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and Sacramento
counties.
The ROD provides: (1) The Service's decision; (2) the proposed
action; (3) alternatives considered in the EIS/R, including the
Environmentally Preferable Alternative (Selected Alternative); (4) the
basis for the Service's decision; (5) associated impacts, mitigation
and findings, providing all practicable means to avoid and minimize
environmental harm; (6) public involvement, including an explanation of
changes made between the draft and final EIS/R; (7) implementation
guidelines; and (8) conclusion.
(Authority: National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.); Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of
[[Page 52029]]
the National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR 1500-1508)).
D. Kenneth McDermond,
Acting Manager, California/Nevada Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 04-19312 Filed 8-23-04; 8:45 am]
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